Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-12-04
Tho Archaeology of Greece.

The Archaeology OF Greece.
The first of this years courseof Rhind
Lectures was given in the FTeemasons'
Hall, Edinburgh, on the 21st ultimo by
a. S. Murray, LII. d., Keeper OF Greek
and Roman Antiquities, British Museum.
The subject OF the course is " he
Archaeology Of Greece" Greek archie
ology vas defined at the outset
by DR.. Murray as including every
thing that the Greeks fashioned into
a permanent outward appearance. 1t
was thus the study OF Greek Art III the
ordinary sense of that word. If Greek
archaeology had one duty to perform
more than another in the way Of teach
ing, it was to trace the early and labori-
Gus steps by which art climbed to Its
pinnacle of greatness. In Greece art
made its best progress just before and
after the Persian wars. Before then 1t
had been bindered bya natural sense OF
insecurity, by certain tlmldlty OF CON
ception and Of tentatlyeness. Aitcrthen 1t
rose with a sense Of security Othe highest
flights. 1t should be observed that the
spirit of independence and industry
among the early Greeks was never OF
the rugged type which sconed every:
thing foreign to itself. Ii was combined
with readiness in making the most OF
whatever came In its way or was avalia-
bic. The early Greess picked up many
O worm in countries outside their own
small kingdom, especially in Assyria and
Egvpt. These two nations had flourish
ed long before Greece. They had Guilt
waited the arts largely, and were not IN
sensible to literature.
But the question for them was not the
great age of Egyptian and Assyrian
civilization, but the age at which the
Greeks were first able to profit by the
example of these nations in tue matter
OF art and to that end it might be well
to remind them that Greek archaeology
had not been able to 60 further back
than the seventh century b. Q. with ab-
solute certainty. Ii had no inscriptions
to show older than that. 1t could trace
pottery and sculpture back so far. There
were vases and sculptures which could
not be made to fit into any period after
that date. In all probability they we're
older, but how much older it had not
been possible to ascertain.
DR.. Murray next noticed series oil
engraved gems, which were figured upon
diagrams on the walls And first he
called attention to their peculiar shape.
Among engraved gems older than those
of Greece the two principal shapes were
the cylinder of Assyria, and the beetle,
or scarab, of Egypt. The Greeks, while
adopting from other nations, especially
from Assyria, the use OF seals and the
technical process of engraving, did not
employ. except rarely, either OF the
two shapes just mentioned. The oldest
of their gems took the form of a nearly
circular bean, whence they were called
lenticular gems or Of a gland or peb-
bic. such as was used for Singing,
whence they might be described as
olandular gems. If they looked for a
motive which might have induced
the Greeks to take these shapes
rather than the cylinder or scarab,
they might find 1t perhaps IN the
circumstance that these We're often
the natural forms in which the stones
were found. Among the large num-
her of these lenticular gems only one or
two possessed ancient mouutIngs. let
they were invariably pierced for attach
ment of some bind, possibly IN the form
of a swivel. Being merely seals they did
not usually aim at beauty or ornament.
They served their end if they expressed
by a symbol or device the identity OF
their owner Whenever that identity had
to be established for the many purposes
of trade and private life where seals were
employed, previous to the general INTRO
duction OF writing.
There was no doubt, also, ofthe exist
ence of gold fnger-rings contemporary
with the seals. Precisely the same style
of engraving was to he seen on gold
ring found at Salonica, on which the
design was that Of two men, each fight
inc with lion. The designs in the len
ticular gems were, with comparatively
few exceptions, taken from the animal
and vegetable kingdoms. Lions, goats,
and bulls were the most prevalent,
though these animals were frequently
contorted and combined in manner
which did not represent nature, but
which was suitable for heraldic pur'
poses. If the philosopher Pythagoras,
in the early part OF the sixth century b. Z.
forbade bis followers to wear the image
OF god on their inger-rings, it might
be inferred that engraving had by that
time reached "A more advanced stage than
ON these lenticular gems. Probably the
advance had been largely due to Mines
archos, the father of Pythagoras, WHO
was by profession gem engraYer, and OF
whom it was said that he had gained
more fame than wealth by the exercise
of it. The Island of Samos appeared tc
! have been one OF the chief centres OF the
new movement in gem-engraVlng. II
was there that Mnesarchos lived, ant
there also lived the sculptor Theodorus
who engraved the famous seal Of Poly
krates, the ruler of the island between
$50 and $50 &. Q.
The origin of Greek coinage was nov
believed TO go no further back than the
seventh century b. c., and 10 have beer
an invention of the Lydian King Gyges
and both in shape and design the earl es
coins were frequently not unlike tin
gems in question. Dealing with tn
question as to the probable date at whicl
this form of gem engraving came int
practice among the Greeks, he put l
down to the seventh century, and spok'
of the authors OF the gems as the Greel
colonists in Asia Minor and Egypt Wit
were open to the artistic lnfu
ence OF these countries and o
the PhGnicians. Pliny adduced tn
silence OF Homer in respect o
seals as proof that they did not exis
in his time. In regard to the echnica
process by which these gems had beel
engraved, Herodotus mentioned som
among the Etliopians in the army o
Xerxes, who had their arrows tipped, no
with iron, but with a sharp stone, Will
which they also engraved gems. Man
OF the lenticular gems were made G
steatite, which was easily engraved. &c
ing on next 10 consider the substance o
whichthe seal was impressed, Or. Murra
pointed out that this medium was mos
probably a small piece Of moist clay, an
that, as a matter of fact, many sets
such circular impressions on clay existed
u -. a.1llfl